


Fear the Afterlife

by Azurame_Neve



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Gen, Guess Tsuna's role, Oc's POV, Supernatural AU - Freeform, a bit disturbing, deaths of characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 15:26:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20780819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azurame_Neve/pseuds/Azurame_Neve
Summary: Everything started with an essay assignment the teacher made them do, saying if they did well, the teacher would add 10 marks into their Literature subject in the finals as bonus marks. The topic was about fear.The young girl twirls her pen, lost in thought, she mumbled, “Fear…”‘Fear of death itself, is scarier than death itself.’She writes a quote she remembers from an anime character her best friend was babbling around for a week. She sighs, trying to remember if there was anything she could write from her experiences.She didn't know, from that day onwards, she'd unravel a buried secret of her very friend.





	Fear the Afterlife

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CutenessCanKill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CutenessCanKill/gifts).

> Beta'ed and modelled after @CutenessCanKill

01 Contact with Death

The first time the young girl encountered death was when she was 9, at the hospital. The awful stench of disinfectant smell filled her nostrils, her body, weight down by the gloominess of the heavy feelings from her parents and relatives for their weakened grandmother. The hospital was an unpleasant memory to her. 

Her grandmother was old, she was suffering from lung cancer, she was suffering. That very pain of hers, was the proof of her being alive, evidence of life.

** _“Luck, is all you will ever need.”_ ** Her grandmother said, both hands desperately grabbing onto hers.

That was what her grandmother left for her at her deathbed. The young girl had believed that she was not finished but nobody would know, now that she was dead. She never understood why her grandmother chose to talk to her with her last breath, deciding to etch those words in her heart, for perhaps one day, it will make her become a happy child, just like the name her grandmother chose for her. 

02 The Unlucky Person

The streets were cold and dark, the alley was void of light and people, it's where the loneliness remains. The darkness where the shadow lurks, buried secrets at places which men are blind. 

_ The girl was unlucky, just like the others before her. She was being chased by a man who was clearly a criminal.  _

_ She ran blindly in the dark, trying to escape her impending doom. However, it wasn’t long till she felt tired. So, she decided, before she got caught, to hide another child at the corner of the alley with items that had been forsaken by others, covering him and hoping that the boy can be freed from sharing the same fate as her. Because she knew, her luck was just bad.  _

_ So she tried to get further away. However, true to her bad luck, she fell. The moment she did, is the moment she turned red. Of course, she screamed, pleaded for help, but no one could hear her cries.  _

_ The child who was hidden nearby and ran towards her to help, but as a child, he was unable to do anything, he merely watched and cried for her. Seeing he failed, another child nearby tried to pull him away but eventually, both of them were soon stained red as well.  _

_ In the end, the girl was gone, for the man brought her remains to another location. The children remained abandoned in the alley. One was crying, while the other was at a place where nobody notices. He too, was all alone.  _

Underneath the dark skies, there was no stars today, there was nothing. 

“Pray. Praying is what the living can do for those who cannot.” There was a chime, a bell-like child's voice said, like a stone dropping into the water and creating ripples on the surfaces. 

_ Click. Clack! _

Footsteps echoed in the dark alley, a small child was walking alone.

“However, no matter how much you pray.” The child hums, all alone in the dark. With a dark cloak on his shoulders, the spiky brown-haired child have amber-golden eyes. 

Within the shadows, no matter how well he blends into the background, he looks so innocent. Perhaps it was due to his child appearances, he looked almost like an angel, like something unreal, differ to this realm of darkness. 

“Prayers, would never help.” His voice was calm, but the smile on his face was so gentle that it felt melancholic. 

‘Why is it that only at this time would you show up?’

The child remained smiling and disappeared, in his place, only remained a small burn mark. As if stating his existence, to let others know there was something there, but you'd never know what or who.

_ “Haaa, I'm really glad to be alive,” The words spoken to someone, yet there was nobody but the speaker.  _

As a boy, that seemed to be a living embodiment of white continues to wander, trying to remake colors on his way to somewhere and seemingly wanting to find  _ something _ . He was never noticed by anyone. Alone as he searches for someone important. 

There was another young girl looking down on the world, she was always aware yet she forgets. Again, further away, unnoticed by them that he was following behind them, the boy looked after them always. 

Everyone in this world is different, there might be similarities, but some are rarely real, wearing masks, revealing your true self to nobody because everyone is dangerous, wearing yourself down because of pure distrust. Within this world, everyone is afraid of the unknown. Nobody would do things like trusting others or sacrificing themselves, they only want things with benefits. 

_ As the rain falls, the lighting flashes through, as the red was washed away. The stains on the white-paper-like boy, can never be overshadowed nor overwritten.  _

03 The Rumor Begun

_ As the rumor spreads, within those who know and those who don't, some things are meant to be known while some are better left forgotten by the passage of time. Many would whisper such rumors, one differing from another. Nobody knows who was the one who started the rumor, nor do they know the truth behind it. _

“If you see a boy in the middle of the night in an alley,” A girl starts as she makes a stern face. 

** _Click! Clack! The footsteps resounds in the alley. _ **

“As a boy clad in white would come, he would ask you. If you gave him a wrong answer…” A woman tells. 

** _‘Would we even be forgiven?’ A voice of a boy asks, his aura screamed of loneliness. _ **

“You'd be dead.” A boy concludes but no one would remember the boy’s face. 

04 The Beginning of Everything 

The rain continues to fall, as if to give their blessings, or were they punishments, only the heavens that watched over it would know.

_ Drop! Tap!! _

Even without shelter, the rain fell on her without mercy for she soon got drenched. She kept running no matter who called her, no matter what was trying to block her from continuing, she just kept running forwards until she caught sight of the child with amber eyes and dark cloak.

_ She doesn’t know why, but her guts tells her. She must catch him, he is the  _ clue  _ to that _ person.

“Who are you?” Her voice filled with tiredness from running so much and curiosity. Panting and out of breath, she hopes to get an answer. 

“Who?” The child turned around and tilts his head. After a moment, “You mean me?” The child points at himself with a finger. Gaining a nod from her, a smirk appeared on his face as he began to walk away. Slowly, but surely, no matter how hard she tries to catch him, he was somehow always a distance away.

“Find me and you'd know.” His voice was high-pitched, bringing a calm sound of a wind chime.

She was shocked by how warm and sad his smile was, but unable to catch up to him, she began to fall down.

“Lucky girl.” His voice resonances in the dark.

Slowly, falling into nothingness. There was nothing to see, it was too dark to see. There was no sound either, like eternal peace. She accepted the end with only one thought.

<strike> _ "Aaah, I failed again." _ </strike>

05 She who had always knew

“Hey!” Within the darkness, she hears a voice.  _ A very familiar voice that pulled her to reality.  _

“Hey!” As if unsatisfied that the voice is not heard, it increased its volume and shook her world in anger. 

“What?” The girl blinks open her eyes in shock, to find her friend looking at her in worry. A question remained in her mind, ‘When did I fall asleep?’

_ At XXX High School,  _

“Keiko-chan? Are you ok? Break time is over.” There it was, the same voice but instead of anger, this time it was filled with worry.

Looking up, she saw a girl with shoulder-length brown hair curled at the end shadowing her with her eyebrows furrowed. 

Our protagonist’s name is Saito Keiko, a girl with a typical average appearance of a high school student you get everywhere. Soft dark hair reaching her waists, dark eyes finally focused after being awake. It took some time for her to snap out of it, since it was a very weird dream. 

“Aaah, Mii-chan! Thanks for waking me up again,” Keiko laughs at her friend who was pouting, and then sighs fondly at her. 

The brown haired girl is Fuyuki Michiko, Keiko’s best friend since middle school. She looks worried, hesitant even, before asking, “So what were you dreaming about?”

“Aaah? Was I having a bad dream...?” Keiko asked Michiko back, before mumbling, “Because I can't seem to remember?” 

All Keiko remembered dreaming about were her memories of her late grandmother and... A child, he was saying something, but Keiko doesn’t remember anymore. 

Looking at the troubled Keiko, Michiko decided to tell her to forget it. There was something else, she wanted Keiko to know.

“Anyways, have you heard that rumor?” Michiko asked with a solemn tone.

“No...What rumor are you talking about?” Keiko was surprised by the sudden change of her friend, but answered truthfully.

“To be specific, I think this rumor might be related to the recent numerous cases of sleeping people. Like you, they just suddenly get sleepy a lot, then one day, they won’t wake up at all.” Michiko continued on patiently. 

“Oh! You meant how people were found at entrances of alleyways, where they were all in a state of deep sleep and no pain or anything could wake them up... As if their souls were taken while leaving the body alive?” Keiko said, surprisingly excited for no reason. 

“Yup! Lately, this rumor began spreading at the net. If you ever wander alone at night in an alley, you'd meet a boy in white. The boy will ask you a question and if you can't answer correctly, you'll be dead.  **Dead asleep** is an accurate description for what's happening lately.” Michiko continues on.

“...Why is it that you always know so much, Mii-chan?” Keiko questions, she felt like her best friend told her this for a reason. 

“I just happen to know, Keiko-chan,” Michiko smiles at her, “That's why, don't venture around at night alone okay?”

‘That smile is hiding something.’ Keiko concluded but brushed it off as the teacher came in and lessons began. 

Keiko’s daily life returned to normal. 

06 He was the Trigger

_ Later that night, _

Walking down the streets void of people, is one Keiko. All alone, even when her best friend told her not to. 

The night sky for once, was empty of both stars and moon. It was surprisingly lonely. 

Holding onto a bag of stuff her mother told her to get with one hand, Keiko sighed to herself, “Sorry, Mii-chan. Kaa-san’s orders can’t be denied.”

** _Click. Clack! Clack!_ **

It started out as soft steps, before Keiko hears someone running in her direction. It was really weird since she was supposed to be alone-

“Wait? When did I entered an alley?” Keiko looks at her surroundings in shock. 

One moment, she was walking by the street pavements but now she is in the middle of a dark alley? ‘Teleportation? Impossible!’ Cursing her luck, she starts to panic. Her guts tells her, something is going to happen soon.  _ Something bad.  _

** _“Hey,”_ ** It was the voice of a boy, but his tone was cold, void of warmth or anything a child’s voice supposed to sound. 

The footsteps stopped, a pair of red sneakers appeared in front of her. Keiko froze, she was afraid. She couldn’t help but shake in fear, fearing the death said to descend upon those who are foolish. 

** _“Can you help me?”_ ** Keiko looked up in shock, the question was something she didn’t expect. She was expecting something that goes, “I want your soul” or things alike. 

Instead, when she sees a boy in white. His hair was white, his skin was as pale as milk, it was as if the boy was made of marble. It made her wonder, “Is this how ghosts look like?”

The only thing that wasn’t white were his eyes. Dull lavender purple colored, it should have been striking within the whiteness, but there was this lonely jaded look that she felt so familiar with. As if she saw it from somewhere, from someone that was always close by.

** _“Say..You over there...”_ ** the boy calls out to her,  ** _“Can you help me find-” _ ** As he spoke, Keiko has this feeling of dread within the bottom of her heart.

** _“My Onee-chan?” _ ** The boy asked again, this time his once purple eyes turned red. The atmosphere turned cold, almost freezing as Keiko could feel her own body shiver. 

“...Can I” Keiko opens her mouth as the boy stared at her coldly, “Can I know the name of your nee-chan?” 

For some reason, the cold stopped. The boy looks at her more curiously this time like he found a rare toy. Keiko gulps, ‘He is still a child... Even after death and all?’

07 The Mystery had begun

_ The Next Day,  _

Keiko came to school completely exhausted. After the encounter with the boy, he gave her a piece of candy wrapper with scribbles on it and disappeared. Keiko could barely see what was written since the ink was smudged. 

Even worse was that when she returned, the things her mom requested her to buy, which was ice-cream, were all melted when she returned home and she had to go out and buy them again. 

‘Brat! That’s what I call him, a complete brat!’ Keiko cursed, but she still held the paper in her hands. Written on it was the familiar layout of an address, but the smudges prevented any concrete locations from being seen.

“Keiko-chan, are you ok?” A voice asked her and then a shadow looms over soon after.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Mii-chan. Also, morning!” Keiko greets Michiko with a tired smile.

Michiko stared at her deeply, before accusing her, “You went out last night didn’t you? I should have known you would do such a thing.”

“Aaaah! Busted~” Keiko laughed it off.

“Anyways, did you watch the news yesterday?” Michiko also brushed it off and changed the topic.

“Which one?” Keiko hums, tearing open a bag of melon bread that she brought from the convenience store on the way to school.

“The evening one. They said they finally arrested the serial killer that had been killing women and children, in a certain alley at night.” Michiko continues on as she took out some candy to chew. 

“Mhmm~ Isn’t that suppose to be a good thing?” Keiko nodded and asked before locking eyes on the candies Michiko was chewing, “Oh, give me some of those choco mint candies. Where did you even get these? Didn't these candies stopped being produced 3 years ago?”

“Nope~ The rest are for my younger brother~” Michiko grins at Keiko who pouts, “How I got them is my trade~ secret~” The green-black wrapped candies were put into a small green pouch, before Michiko placed it back into her bag. 

“Moving on, what’s so weird about the serial killer getting arrested?” Keiko then asked, after giving up on the candies.

“Yeah, but the weirdest things is that, he committed suicide the night he was jailed! Isn’t that creepy? Witnesses said that he had been laughing as he hung himself with the help of blankets on the ceiling fan.” Michiko mutters all the while chewing the candy, not disturbed at all.

“Woah! That’s really creepy.” Keiko nods before questioning once again, “Again, you always know things normal high school girls don’t?”

“Like I said before, I just happen to know.” Michiko smiled contently. There it was again, the smile that told her many things yet it hides as much. 

“But maybe I’d give one to you after I give some to my younger brother, Keiko-chan~ Maybe tomorrow~” Michiko says as Keiko cheered up, looking forward to tomorrow. 

08 Clues from Death itself

On her way home, Keiko heard something weird again.

_ Ding~ Ding~ _

It was the sound of bell chimes, but she was just on a busy street. It was weird to hear bell chimes when there was nothing alike from the said streets. 

“Over here, over here.” A childish voice reaches Keiko’s ears, she turned to the left.

_ It was an alley. _

“You!” This time, instead of the boy in white, Keiko saw the other child. The child that appeared in her dreams. The brown-haired child with a black cloak, Keiko hurried into the alley. 

“So, would you like to solve this matter?” The brown-haired child asked her with a mischievous smile.

“Solve what matter?” Keiko eyed him suspiciously. 

The child laughed at her actions, before asking, “Clues to finding that boy’s nee-chan. Do you want it?”

“Of course!” Keiko nods her head.

The child smiles and tells her, “Go to that address. It will tell you everything.” 

Keiko stares at him in shock, the words written on the candy wrapper suddenly became clear. When she wants to thank the child, she noticed that she was all alone.

  
  


09 She who is Familiar

The address Keiko went to was one she was extremely familiar with, since she used to come here everyday in her childhood days. 

‘But when was it that I stopped coming? I think it was when Mii-chan stopped coming to school for a month because of family emergencies?’ Keiko thinks, taking the elevator to the 8th floor. 

She knocks on her best friend’s door a few times, but no one answered. Although she was sure this was her best friend;s house, but there wasn't even her name plate. It was as if the place is emptied for a long time. 

“Excuse me, who are you searching for?” A voice asked, it was the neighbour living beside Michiko. He seemed like a college student, but was very patient with her.

“I’m searching for the girl who lives next door! Fuyuki Michiko!” Keiko answered, receiving weird looks from the man.

“...Are you one of her relatives?” He hesitated when he asked.

“Wha-! No, I’m her best friend, where can I find her now?” Keiko was shocked by his reply and asked him directly. Annoyed by his pale face and behavior, she demanded an answer. 

The neighbour made a face of pity and sadness before he wrote something down on a piece of paper, “You can find her here, but to think you’d only come here after so long.”

“What do you mean?” Keiko asked confused, taking the paper after saying thank you.

“...Why, why is this the-” Keiko asked in shock, once again. There was so much shocking things in one day. As if all the peace had ended. 

“Huh? Could it be...you didn’t know?” This time was the man’s turn to be shocked. 

“...She, when did she-” Keiko gulps as she gripped her suffocating chest, “When did she pass away?”

The man looked at her weirdly before telling her solemnly, _“Three years ago.”_

10 The truth

_ It was all just a tragic accident. Those who were unlucky, only the living can speak for those who cannot. The mask they put on, everything has their own reason. From the start, there was nothing she could do, it had been decided. Their fates have ended.  _

Keiko stands in front of a grave she never thought she would ever be in front of so quick.

**Written “Fuyuki Michiko, loving sister and friend” on her grave. **

“Hey,” A voice of a teenager calls out to Keiko from behind. 

“Huh?” Confused, she turned her head to find a teenager with brown spiky hair and amber eyes. At first she didn’t recognise him, but the black cloak was a dead give away!

“It’s you- but, you’re not a child?” Keiko asked once more, pointing at the teenager rudely. 

“Who even said, I was a child in the first place?” The teen chuckled before moving forward to give his respects to Michiko’s grave. 

“Just who are you?” Keiko asked him, not seriously but just for the sake of asking. 

“Someone who ties and cuts the knots of the dead and the living.” The teen replies blatantly. 

“Then, the memories I had of her. Were they real?” Keiko then asked again, as she left some flowers for her friend. 

“Yes. She is still your friend even now, isn’t she?” The teen replied to her with a calm smile. 

“Is she with her brother now?” Keiko asked again, causing the teen to tease her, “Why do you have so many questions?”

Eventually, not gaining a reaction from Keiko, he tells her, “Yeah. When you went to her grave, the boy was actually following behind you. Because when he died he was abandoned, he couldn’t find his sister. Thanks to you, they are finally together.” 

“...Then, is she happy now?” Keiko asked again, but this time, there was no reply. She turned behind, to find nothing but a piece of choco-mint candy on the ground.

Keiko laughs, picking up the candy, “Geez, thanks, Mii-chan.”

Chewing the candy that was said to stop being produced 3 years ago, Keiko mutters, “I sure am lucky, aren't I?”

**Author's Note:**

> _“Fear the afterlife, they said. Fear them, because if you forget them, they will really be gone.” _ \- Azurame Neve


End file.
